Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI)

Definition - What does Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) mean?

Very large-scale integration (VLSI) is the process of integrating or embedding hundreds of thousands of transistors on a single silicon semiconductor microchip. VLSI technology was conceived in the late 1970s when advanced level computer processor microchips were under development.

Techopedia explains Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI)

VLSI is one of the most widely used technologies for microchip processors, integrated circuits (IC) and component designing. It was initially designed to support hundreds of thousands of transistor gates on a microchip which, as of 2012, exceeded several billion. All of these transistors are remarkably integrated and embedded within a microchip that has shrunk over time but still has the capacity to hold enormous amounts of transistors.

The first 1 mega byte RAM was built on top of VLSI design principles and included more than one million transistors on its microchip dye.